Lemar Parrish
| No. 20, 24 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Cornerback / Return specialist | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | December 13, 1947 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | West Palm Beach, Florida | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Lincoln University of Missouri | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1970 / Round: 7 / Pick: 163 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Interceptions: | 47 |
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| Touchdowns: | 13 |
| Punt/Kick return yards: | 2,709 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Lemar R. Parrish (born December 13, 1947) is a former professional American football player who played defensive back in the National Football League for the Cincinnati Bengals (1970–1977), Washington Redskins (1978–1982), and Buffalo Bills (1982).
Parrish played football and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Riviera Beach, Florida.
He played college football for Lincoln University of Missouri in Jefferson City, Missouri. He was a running back and a four-year letter-winner from 1966 to 1969. In 1969, he set the school's record for longest punt return when he returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdown against Southwest Missouri State University. He also set school records for most punt return yards in a game (129 yards on three returns) and highest average per punt return in that game (43 yards per return). That year, Parrish averaged 16.8 yards per punt return. That, and his career average of 15.5 yards per return, are still school records. He was named All-American in 1969.
After graduating college, he was selected by the Bengals in the seventh round of the 1970 NFL Draft. Parrish immediately made an impact, not just as a defensive back but also as a kick returner on special teams.
In his 1970 rookie season, Parrish recorded five interceptions, one fumble recovery, 194 yards returning punts, 482 yards returning kickoffs, and scored two touchdowns (one punt return and one kickoff return). His 482 kickoff return yards came on just 16 returns, a whopping 30.1 yards per return average.
In 1974, Parrish set a franchise record with an NFL-leading 18.8 yards per punt return average (18 returns for 338 yards). In his eight seasons with the Bengals, Parrish was selected to the Pro Bowl six times (1970, 1971, 1974–1977).
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